The Army will hold listening sessions at 29 installations across the country to gather feedback on potential force reductions and restructuring.

The sessions, which will be scheduled by the individual posts, will take place throughout this month.

The Army plans to cut eight of its 45 active-duty brigade combat teams as it shrinks the force from 562,000 soldiers to 490,000 by fiscal 2017.

As many as five more BCTs could be eliminated if Army leaders decide to add a third maneuver battalion to its remaining airborne, infantry and armored BCTs. The Stryker brigades already each have three maneuver battalions.

The series of listening sessions follows an environmental assessment that looked at 21 installations that likely would experience population changes because of the BCT reshuffling and potential redesign.

The report found no significant environmental impact regardless of whether an installation loses or gains troops, and it also estimated that any affected installation should not expect to lose more than 8,000 military and civilian personnel.

So far, the Army has announced the inactivation of two BCTs — the 170th and 172nd BCTs in Germany.

No other decisions or announcements have been made, and officials expect to use the feedback gathered at these listening sessions to help inform their decisions. Senior Army leaders have said they expect some decisions to be made this summer.

“These public forums are an opportunity for local, state and federal community stakeholders to provide their direct input,” Army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Peggy Kageleiry said in a statement. “At these sessions, the community can communicate their unique points of interest they believe the Army should consider before making force structure decisions about their installation.”